Rodri sends 'pay attention' warning to Vinicius Jr after controversially pipping Real Madrid forward to Ballon d'Or and makes FaceTime joke about Brazilian superstar

Prior to the most prestigious of awards being handed, the expectation was that a Golden Ball would end up in the hands of a Brazilian forward. It then emerged that Rodri, with Premier League and Euro 2024 titles under his belt, would be recognised as the best player on the planet.

Real Madrid refused to send any representatives to the glitzy Ballon d’Or ceremony in disgust, as they reacted angrily to the most dramatic of snubs, but Rodri is revelling in his new standing at the top of the global game and has offered some words of advice to Vinicius when it comes to achieving a similar standing himself.

Spain international Rodri has told El Larguero: “I think he's an intelligent guy and he'll realise over time that the more he pays attention to the pitch, the better he'll be. Like everyone, he has areas for improvement both on and off the pitch. He's young, I'm sure that people will give him good advice and even more so when he's at Madrid. It's a club with values.”

Quizzed on whether he has received any contact from the Spanish capital on the back of his Golden Ball triumph, Rodri joked: “Did they call me from the club? No, obviously not. A message from Vinicius? Yes, yes, a FaceTime... not at all.”

Rodri is seeing his own move to Real Madrid speculated on, having becoming a talismanic presence for English champions City, but is currently focused on returning to full fitness after suffering a season-ending knee ligament injury in September.